1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a softener composition for fabrics comprising a quaternary ammonium salt and an ether carboxylate. The composition has excellent softening and antistatic effects to various fibers and has a good dispersibility.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Most of the presently commercially available fabric softener compositions for ordinary household use are compositions comprising, as a main ingredient, a quaternary ammonium salt having in the molecule 1 or 2 long-chain alkyl groups. The reason is that such quaternary ammonium salts exert a very high softening effect to cotton fibers, even when used in a small amount.
In recent years, the proportions of synthetic fibers in cloth materials in households has rapidly increased. However, cloths made of synthetic fibers become hard when they are repeatedly worn and washed, and they readily become electrostatically charged. Therefore, they must be subjected to softening and antistatic treatments.
Quaternary ammonium salts, as mentioned above, have a very high softening effect to cotton fibers but it cannot be said that they are satisfactory in both their softening and antistatic effects to synthetic fibers. Among industrial softeners, which are not used in households, there are only a few softeners which are satisfactory in both the softening and antistatic effects to synthetic fibers. Accordingly, in general, agents excellent in the softening effect and agents excellent in the antistatic effect are used in combination for treating synthetic fibers. Further, agents which are satisfactory in both the softening and antistatic effects to synthetic fibers must be employed for treatment at a very high concentration and therefore, they are not suitable for ordinary household use. Moreover, these softeners for synthetic fibers are inferior in their softening effect to cotton fibers.
As will be apparent from the foregoing description, there has not been developed a household fabric softener composition having a high softening effect to various fibers and which also is excellent in its antistatic effect to synthetic fibers.
It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a fabric softener composition having a softening effect to cotton as high as the softening effect attained by conventional softeners in the case of the household softening treatment and also having much higher softening and antistatic effects to synthetic fibers than those attained by conventional softeners.